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Summer Term Science Roundup
8th July 2025

The Biology, Chemistry and Physics Departments have been busy throughout the Summer Term, and students have achieved major successes taking part in a range of competitions and activities, including: Olympiads, university challenges, The National Scientific Thinking Challenge and so much more.

Biology Olympiad Success

In February, we had over 50 Sixth Form biologists take part in the British Biology Olympiad competition.  

Six girls achieved a Bronze Award (achieved by only 15% of entrants) and six girls achieved a Silver Award (achieved by only 10% of entrants). A fantastic set of results as they were up against tough competition from nearly 19,000 students nationally. 

Elise and Chalsie both achieved an impressive Gold Award, putting them in the top 5%. They were both invited to take part in the national team selection round ahead of the International Biology Olympiad in the Philippines, and although they were not selected we congratulate them for making it so far in the competition. 

Later in the year, 17 SFC1s went on to take part in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad in June, particularly impressive as this took part in the middle of the very busy exam period. 

Over 17,000 students took part in this year's competition and our students should be really proud of themselves, overall they achieved seven Bronze Awards, four Silvers and one Gold Award from Innie (achieved by only 5% of the 17,000 entrants). 

Mrs Williams, Teacher of Biology

LabMaster Winners

A team of LC3 students including Siya, Lam, Elise, Mischa and Bianca recently took part in the Cheltenham Education Partnership’s LabMaster event — and returned with an incredible 1st place finish. 

Throughout the day, the students tackled a series of hands-on science challenges designed to test their understanding, creativity, and collaboration across all three sciences. In Biology, they explored the concept of preferential movement in species through maggot racing. In Physics, their knowledge of elasticity and gravity was put to the test in a catapult-building challenge. In Chemistry, they applied their laboratory skills and scientific knowledge to accurately determine the weight of a complex mixture of substances, including ethanol, sand, and salt — showcasing precision, careful observation, and methodical working. 

The event concluded with a research-based presentation, in which the team confidently delivered an engaging talk on CRISPR gene-editing technology and its potential use in species resurrection. Their thorough preparation, scientific curiosity, and clear communication left a lasting impression on the judges. 

The girls demonstrated outstanding teamwork, critical thinking, and a strong application of their scientific knowledge. Having spent several weeks preparing for the competition, their hard work and collaboration truly paid off. 

A special mention to Juliet, who acted as a Special Scientific Advisor during the planning stages and to also act as a reserve in case of a non-attendance on the day. 

Mr Malin, Teacher of Biology

National Biology Challenge Competition

All UC4 Biology students took part in the National Biology Challenge Competition at the end of April, along with 42,000 students nationally. They sat a challenging one hour paper which really put their Biology and thinking skills to the test. 

A huge congratulations to everyone who took part and achieved an incredible set of results. Overall, the UC4s were awarded 39 Bronze Awards (only awarded to 15% of participants), 21 Silver Awards (only awarded to 10% of participants) and an impressive 18 Gold Awards (only awarded to the top 5% of participants). 

A particular well done to the Gold Award winners: 

Zara

Ivy

Chizuru

Lola

Toby

Lucy

Xiao

Regina

Choi

Sophia

Chloe

Ottie

Oluwatosinju

Amanda

Alice

Ella

Calleigh

Mrs Williams, Teacher of Biology

3rd Place in European Society of Human Genetics Video Competition

A huge congratulations to Jamie in SFC1 who was awarded 3rd place in the European Society of Human genetics (ESHG) Video Competition, beating competition from over 300 entrants across 26 European countries. She produced an impressive video answering the question: ‘The importance of understanding genetic diversity for health and disease’.

As part of her prize, Jamie won 200 euros for herself and 500 euros for the Biology Department.  

Well done, Jamie!

Mrs Williams, Teacher of Biology

Year 5 Summer Club 

The Biology Department have enjoyed leading a Summer Biology Club over this last half term for a group of Year 5 students from local primary schools. The girls enjoyed activities such as pond dipping, flower and owl pellet dissections, building their own terrarium…and of course lots of Biology games! 

Mrs Glover, Teacher of Biology

University of Waterloo, Canada - Chemistry Challenge

In May, students in UC4, UC5 and SFC1 sat two Chemistry exams set by the University of Waterloo, Canada. Sissi (UC5) scored 69% and was the top performer in the UK in Chem13, a challenge that is aimed at Year 13 students.

Ella (UC5) scored 74% in the Avogadro Competition (aimed at Canadian Grade 11, approximately UK Year 12), finishing 27th in the UK with this result. 

Well done all!

Dr Leonard, Head of Chemistry

RSC Schools Analyst Competition 

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Schools Analyst challenge ran throughout May for SFC1s.

It is a competition in which students work in teams to tackle analytical science through experiments based on relevant societal or industrial problems.

Congratulations to the highest placed team from CLC: Eleanor and Nancy. 

Dr Leonard, Head of Chemistry

C3L6, Cambridge Chemistry Challenge 

A brave group of CLC chemists toiled with the combined radiation of the sun and their brain cells in later June as they poured over some excellent questions in the C3L6, Cambridge Chemistry Challenge - an Olympiad style competition aimed primarily at SFC1.

Six girls secured Copper Awards, eight achieved Silver and six girls got Gold (putting them in the top 10% of 14,500 entries).

Congratulations to all who took part, particularly to Izzy, Ann, Chloe, Sissi, Hani and Coco. 

Dr Leonard, Head of Chemistry

The National Scientific Thinking Challenge

The National Scientific Thinking Challenge is an online competition designed to assess Year 10 students' abilities to apply scientific thinking skills to unfamiliar problems. It tests skills like data analysis, deduction, hypothesis formation, and spotting trends, rather than just recall of taught material. The challenge is created by academics from several UK universities and is supported by UCAS.  

15,663 students took part from 266 different schools across 11 different countries, with a mean score of 57%. At CLC, we have had another excellent year, with 92 UC4s achieving an award: 20 Gold (top 10%), 48 Silver (top 25%), and 24 Bronze (top 40%) 

Student Comments: 

Leanne: “The National Scientific Thinking Challenge helped me think outside the box and think about science in a more creative way. I enjoyed how it focused on problem-solving questions and applying science that we learn in lessons to everyday appliances. It made me think of science in a new way and has made me more interested in new topics!”

Esther: “I found the National Scientific Thinking Challenge a good chance to think about science outside of our lessons. It was also interesting to be faced with questions about things we hadn’t encountered before. It was challenging in a good way as I was able to test my reasoning and problem-solving skills!” 

Miss Bailey, Teacher of Chemistry

CLC Chemistry Olympiad

On 16th June, over 40 LC3 and UC4 girls gathered in West Wing Hall for the third annual CLC Chemistry Olympiad. This in-house competition gives the girls an opportunity to try an Olympiad style competition before entering national competitions in UC5 and SFC.

LC3 were tested on formulae, equations, the metals in EV motors and the reactions of ethanol, whilst UC4 girls tackled problems around chlorine in swimming pools and atmospheric pollution.

Christabel came out on top from the LC3 competition whilst Eunis achieved the top score from the UC4 cohort. Congratulations to all the girls who took part and embodied this year’s mantra of being 10% braver. 

Special thanks to go our Chemistry Reps Ann, Hannah and Bernice for being on hand at the start of the event to welcome the junior girls with words of encouragement and, perhaps more importantly, a bag of Skittles. Also to Chemistry Rep Emily for producing the promotional art material for 2025. 

Dr Leonard, Head of Chemistry

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